Leading On Tasha
by Lily Michelle
Summary: Why you calling me so late? Girl, you make it hard to be faithful with the lips of an angel. DanLinds, DanOC, FlackOC
1. Part One

Leading On Tasha

**Rating: **_PG (if even)_

**Pairings: **_Danny/Lindsay (of course), Danny/OC, Flack/OC (same one)_

**Disclaimer:** _Yeah, I own this. I also invented microwave popcorn and sliced bread. (/sarcasm)_

**Summary:** _Why you calling me so late? Girl, you make it hard to be faithful with the lips of an angel._

**Author's Notes:** _This story was inspired by two things. The first and more obvious is Hinder's song "Lips of an Angel". The second and more influential (because it led me to the song) is **LadeeBear**'s fic Lips of an Angel. I listened to the song over and over and this story just came to me. _

_It's going to be about five or six parts (four of which are written at this time). There will most definitely be the possibility of related one shots, since I deliberately left some scenes out. This is a Danny centric fic, so those left out scenes are ones where Danny is not present. Lots of reviews will certainly inspire me to write those missing scenes._

Part One

Danny opened his eyes and blinked slowly. He rolled over and looked at his clock. The red lights read 3:00.

_Who could be calling at this hour? I'm not even on call._

He picked up his cell and snuck out of the room, so he wouldn't wake Natasha. As he shut the door, he looked at the blond in his bed, seeing that she was sleeping just as deeply as ever.

"Messer," he said into his phone.

"Danny."

One word and he knew who it was.

"Montana, what's wrong?"

There was a pause on the phone and Danny tried to hear if Natasha had woken up.

"I couldn't sleep. I keep having the dream."

Danny nodded, even though she couldn't see.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you."

Danny smiled. "You know you can always talk to me, Montana."

"I know."

There was another pause and he waited for her to say something. He'd learned the hard was not to push her.

"Is she there?"

Danny cringed. He didn't like talking about Natasha to Montana. He didn't want any girlfriend except Montana. But she'd turned him down. He'd been content to stay single and wait, but Montana had bugged him about getting a girlfriend for so long that he had eventually given in. That explained Natasha in his bed and Montana on the phone at three in the morning. He'd always held true to his promise to bee there for her.

"Yeah, she's here. I'm in the living room."

"Do you think she knows I call you?"

"No. I don't think so."

Danny made a concerted effort not to talk to Natasha about Montana. He usually said it was Flack or Mac on the phone if Natasha was awake when Montana called. He doubted his girlfriend knew who really called him so often, and he was almost certain she didn't know about the nighttime calls.

"Was the dream really bad?" he asked.

He heard her sigh over the phone. That meant she didn't really want to talk about it.

"No," she answered. "It just unsettled me a bit. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"I like hearing your voice too, Montana. Do you want me to come over?"

Sometimes he went over when the dreams were so bad that she couldn't sleep.

"No. Don't leave Natasha. I'm fine."

"It's okay, Montana. If you need me, I'll tell her that a friend needs me. Don't worry about her. Do _you_ need me?"

"I'll be alright, Danny. I just needed to talk to you. I'll let you sleep now."

"Are you sure? Can you sleep?"

There was a pause and Danny knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep.

"Could you just stay on the line until I fall asleep?"

"Sure," he said. "You just lie down and I'll stay until you're sleeping."

He heard rustling and when it stopped all he could hear was Montana's gentle breathing.

"I'm here, Montana. You're safe. You can sleep," he whispered reassuringly.

He sat in silence until he heard her breathing deepen into the familiar rhythm of her sleep. It crossed his mind that her sleeping should not be such a familiar sound when he'd never even slept near her. He'd just listened to her sleep over the phone.

"Sweet dreams, Montana," he murmured.

As he hung up, he thought he heard her mumble his name in her sleep. A familiar pang in his chest, which always went along with ending calls with her, made him lean back on the couch and sigh.

He dropped his cell on the coffee table and rested his head in his hands. Every time he talked to her, he wanted her more. He wanted to be there for her in person, not over the phone.

A noise to his left made him look up and he saw Natasha standing in the doorway.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, just couldn't sleep," he lied.

He got up and walked over to her, squeezing past her into his bedroom. He was so intent on making himself look natural that he didn't see Natasha's disbelieving look. Or her all too knowing glance at the phone.


	2. Part Two

_See part one for disclaimer._

Part Two

Danny and Natasha were sitting in his apartment watching a movie when his cell rang. He glanced at the screen and saw it said _Montana_.

"I gotta take this," he said, standing up and leaving the room.

When he returned, the television was off and Natasha was standing by the door.

"What's going on?" he asked her.

"I can't do this anymore, Danny."

He was shocked. She was breaking up with him. He was not expecting that. He'd tried to be a good boyfriend, even if he did want to be with Montana. He'd paid attention to Natasha, unless Montana called, and he didn't always do that with his girlfriends.

"Why?"

Natasha threw up her hands in frustration.

"You don't even know. For God's sake, Danny, I'm not going to let you use me anymore."

That surprised him. He hadn't been using her. He treated her like a real girlfriend, not some toy.

"I'm not using you," he protested.

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a pointed look.

"I'm not stupid, Danny. I know you're in love with her. I'm just a substitute."

"In love? What are you talking about?"

"The girl you're always talking to on the phone. I know you're not talking to Flack or Mac. I can tell when you're lying. Besides, Flack and Mac wouldn't call in the middle of the night just to talk."

He was so shocked she knew that he couldn't even pretend to be innocent.

"How did you know?"

"I told you, I'm not stupid. You're in love with her, but for some reason you're using me as a replacement. I don't want to be used, even if you are a good boyfriend. I don't have time to waste like this. I'm twenty-eight. I want to settle down. I need someone who wants me for me."

Danny sank down on the couch. She was right, of course. He wasn't using her for sex, but he was using her all the same.

"I'm sorry," he said honestly. "I didn't mean to use you. I didn't want to hurt you."

Natasha smiled slightly. "I know, Danny. You're a good guy. You're just in love with someone else. Look, I don't want to make a scene, so I'm just going to grab my stuff and go."

He nodded and dropped his head into his hands.

When she got back with a bag of her things, he was still sitting there.

"Danny, don't be too hard on yourself," she said. "That girl obviously loves you too, if she's calling so often. She'll come around."

She walked to the front door and opened it. Standing in the doorway, she turned back to him.

"And don't feel bad about me. I'll be alright. Just don't call, okay? I don't think I'll be able to say no twice."

With that she was gone. Danny sighed and kept his head in his hands. His cell rang and for the first time, he hoped it wasn't Montana.

"Messer," he answered, trying not to sound as awful as he felt.

It was Mac. There was a double homicide and he was needed.

"Yeah, I'll be right there."


	3. Part Three

_See part one for disclaimer._

Part Three

Danny was leaving the precinct after interrogating a suspect when he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw Flack walking down the hall towards him.

"Hey, Flack. What's up?"

"I'm heading out to lunch. You hungry?"

Danny nodded and they headed over to their favourite hotdog stand. Once they had their hotdogs, they leaned against the side of the precinct and ate in silence for several minutes.

"So," Flack said. "I ran into Natasha last night at Flanagan's. Heard you two broke up."

Danny sighed. "She dumped me."

"Yeah, she told me."

"I guess she told you why, then?"

Flack nodded. "You're in love with Monroe. Only she didn't know it was her."

Danny nodded, but otherwise stayed quiet.

"She's not mad at you, Danny. Don't feel too bad. She knows you didn't mean it."

He shrugged. "Maybe not, but I still did it."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Dano," Flack said, patting Danny on the shoulder. "Just don't go to Flanagan's any time soon."

"Why?"

"Natasha said she'd be hanging around there. She doesn't like sitting at home, you know."

"Yeah," Danny said. "Alright, I'll steer clear."

"So, you okay, man?" Flack asked.

Danny nodded. "I'll be alright. Forget about it."

"If you say so, Danny."

Flack finished off his hotdog and brushed the crumbs off his tie.

"Back to work, then. See you later, Dan."

Danny waved as his friend re-entered the precinct. He would not have let him go so easily if he'd know that Flack was thinking it was about time to talk to a certain Montana native.


	4. Part Four

_See part one for disclaimer._

Part Four

Danny was passing through the lobby at the crime lab later in the day when Lindsay burst through the front doors. He saw tears in her eyes and he instinctively knew they were tears of guilt. The expression on her face clearly showed self-recrimination and Danny had spent too much time watching her not to know that look. She caught sight of him and her tears fell faster.

"What's wrong, Montana?" he cried, rushing across the lobby towards her.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I'm so sorry," she sobbed into his chest as he held her.

"For what?" he asked.

She couldn't get anything through her sobs except a vague 'Don said'.

Flack walked through the doors, with a somber look on his face. Danny came to the logical conclusion when Lindsay looked up, saw Flack and ran towards the elevators.

"What did you do?" he yelled at Flack.

"I just told her the truth," Flack said, sounding uncharacteristically cold.

"What did you say?" Danny screamed.

By this time the entire lobby was looking and Flack was getting angry.

"All I did was tell her that what she's doing is wrong. She's leading you on and forcing you to lead other people on. You don't need that and neither does Tasha!"

"I'll decide what I need, alright, Flack? Don't stick your nose in my business. And since when is it 'Tasha'?"

Flack looked really angry by now. Both men were red in the face and standing toe to toe shouting at each other.

"Since yesterday! When she got sick of how you were treating her and I ran into her at a bar. I've liked her since you started dating her, okay! And I haven't like how you treated her from the beginning. Monroe shouldn't have made you get a girlfriend, so that _she_ can call you at all hours without feeling guilty! It ain't right and she's the one that forced it to happen."

Danny was an inch away from slugging Flack right in the jaw.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that. You hear me? It's none of your business. If you like Natasha, then you go out with her. Don't go blaming Montana for my mistakes. I screwed up, not her. So just shut up!"

Flack was about to yell back when another voice echoed through the lobby.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Mac Taylor stormed towards the two detectives with a look that did not bode well for either of them.

"Both of you get out of my lab. Personal problems don't belong here. Danny, I expect you back tomorrow morning in a state to work professionally, not throw temper tantrums. Flack, I'm calling your supervisor and he'll deal with you.

"This is a crime lab, not kindergarten. I won't tolerate this kind of behaviour. Now, get out."

Danny and Flack left the lab silently. Danny headed to the subway and Flack headed to his police car. Neither said a word to the other. Danny knew they'd probably get over this, but for now, he was too pissed off at Flack to care. All he cared about was knowing exactly what Flack had said to Montana and how he, Danny, could fix it.


	5. Part Five

_See part one for disclaimer. This is the last part._

Part Five

A week later, things were almost back to normal at the lab. Danny still didn't know exactly what Flack had said to Lindsay, but he and Flack had made up. Flack had apologized to Lindsay and he was dating Natasha. Sometimes, Danny saw her outside the precinct waiting for Flack. Danny had spoken to her and he didn't quite feel so bad about how they'd broken up. She'd even said that they could be friends. Danny could see that she was happy with Flack and he was glad for them. They were both great people and they truly deserved each other.

The team had just solved a high profile case and everyone was going out for drinks. If Danny had known that Flack was bringing Natasha, or that Lindsay had seen Danny talking to Natasha and had thought they were back together, maybe he wouldn't have gone.

As it was, he didn't know any of that, so when Stella mentioned drinks, he jumped at the chance.

That night, when he arrived at the bar he found the team near the back. Most people were there already and the only seats left were two between Natasha and Sid. Danny took the seat beside his ex and ordered a beer from the waitress.

Everyone was talking and laughing when Lindsay arrived five minutes later. Danny saw her reaction to Natasha and the position of the empty chair beside him. She looked upset when she saw the chair was beside him and relieved when she saw Natasha on his other side. Danny had no idea how to interpret that. He couldn't have known she was thinking that Natasha was his girlfriend and would distract him.

Everything was fine until Flack started getting a little tipsy and whispered into Natasha's ear. She giggled and gave him a light punch on his arm.

"Don!" she cried, sounding totally scandalized.

"What?" he asked.

She gave him a pointed look, which said 'that's-completely-inappropriate'.

"Oh, alright, Tasha," he relented. "At least come dance with me, baby."

She grinned and nodded. They went over to the corner near the old fashioned jukebox and started swaying to the music.

Danny hadn't noticed Lindsay go all tense, but he certainly heard her hiss his name angrily.

"What?" he asked, turning to her but keeping his voice low enough for just her to hear.

"I thought Natasha was _your_ girlfriend."

He shook his head. "We broke up last week. You know that. She's going out with Flack now."

"Oh."

Lindsay's voice was so soft Danny could hardly hear it.

"I should go," she mumbled. She quickly stood up and practically ran out of the bar.

Everyone at the table looked at him, but he ignored them and ran after her.

"Montana!" he called as soon as he was outside and he caught sight of her walking away.

She stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Don't go," he said. "Talk to me."

She turned around and looked at the ground.

"I can't do this anymore, Danny."

It was the second time he'd heard that in less than two weeks and if Lindsay was trying to leave him too, he thought he might die.

"Can't do what?" he asked, only just keeping his voice from wavering.

"This," she repeated. "I can't keep pretending."

His throat felt dry, but he managed to choke out, "What are you pretending?"

Lindsay sobbed dryly. "That I don't need you."

He gasped slightly, not at all expecting her to say that.

"It was easier when you had a girlfriend," she continued. "I could tell myself you were off the market and I could keep you at arms length. But I can't do that anymore."

He put her hands on her upper arms and she looked up at him.

"Then, don't," he whispered.

"But, I don't know how," she replied.

He gently cupped her cheek with his hand and caught a tear with his thumb.

"We'll learn together, Montana."

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Then, Lindsay smiled ever so slightly and Danny pulled her to him in a crushing hug.

"I need you, Danny," she murmured into his chest.

"I need you too, Montana. Let me help you."

He felt her nod and heard her softly say 'okay'.


End file.
